Bitter Battle Ends As Dell Shareholders OK $25 Billion Buyout

Dell Inc. shareholders, as expected, have approved founder Michael Dell's $25 billion offer to take the company private, ending a protracted battle that saw billionaire investor Carl Icahn mount his own takeover bid for the computer maker.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company notes that: "Dell stockholders will receive $13.75 in cash for each share of Dell common stock they hold, plus payment of a special cash dividend of $0.13 per share to stockholders of record as of a date prior to the effective time of the merger, for total consideration of $13.88 per share in cash."

Icahn said earlier this week that he was giving up his takeover attempt. He wrote in a letter to shareholders, The Associated Press reported, "that he still thinks Michael Dell's bid to take his company private undervalues the business and freezes shareholders out of any future gains. But Icahn also said it would be 'almost impossible' to defeat that offer." Dell is joined in the buyout by Silver Lake, a technology investment firm.

"Michael Dell has argued that revamping his company into a provider of enterprise computing services in the mold of IBM is a complex undertaking best performed outside the spotlight of public markets.

"It remains to be seen if Dell can build its storage, networking and software portfolios to vie with Hewlett Packard Co and others. Some analysts think it may be too late, since a large swathe of the corporate market has been locked up by IBM and HP.

"But with the PC market expected to shrink again in 2013, investors say the company has little choice."